Contact with locking feature



April 1966 H. E. RUEHLEMANN 3,243,536

CONTACT WITH LOCKING FEATURE Filed March 16, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTOR. HERBERT E. RUEf/LEMA/V/V P 1966 H. E. RUEHLEMANN 3,248,686

CONTACT WITH LOCKING FEATURE Filed March 16, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR. 68 HERBERTE. RUfi/ZEMA/VN ATTORNEYS- April 2 1966 H. E.RUEHLEMANN 3, 36

CONTACT WITH LOCKING FEATURE Filed March 16, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet f5 FIG.///I Jlllllhllllllllll".

24a F/G. /2

244 INVENTOR.

2/4 HERBf/W' 5. RUE/1L [MAN/V BY 245 242 24.5 a )fi ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent CONTACT WITH LOCKING FEATURE Herbert E. Ruehlemann,Huntingdon Valley, Pa., assignor to Elco Corporation, Willow Grove, Pa.,a corporation This application isa continuation-in-part of myapplication Serial No. 206,886, filed July 2, 1962, and now abandoned.

This invention relates to a novel contact with locking feature and hasas its objective the provision of a novel contact with a locking featureincorporating a novel locking means whereby secure mechanical andelectrical connection between the lead of an outside circuit and thetail of the contact of a connector member may be directly made.

It is known to provide wire ferrules and other gripping means wherebythe conductive member of the lead of an outside circuit may be united toa contact. The present invention differs from previous devices byproviding a locking feature associated with a bifurcated contact whichmay be directly secured within an insulating casing and thereby in oneoperation provide a fully wired connector member.

This is accomplished by providing a contact including a head and tailportion wherein the tail portion comprises two grasping means, one ofwhich is adapted to be crimped upon the conductive member of the lead ofan outside circuit and the other of which is adapted to be cn'mped uponthe entire lead of the outside circuit including the insulation thereof.

Another feature of the invention resides in providing in the tailsection a two step trough separating the two grasping means with acentral depression being formed in the forward of the steps in the tailsection, the depression having the purpose of receiving a portion of theexposed FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the contact of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken through a connector member withportions removed for clarity showing the contact of FIG. 1 with the leadof an outside circuit secured to the tail portion thereof and firmlyanchored in the casing of a connector member;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the contact constituting a secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the contact of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a rear elevational view of the contact of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the lines 88 of FIG. 5; I

FIG. 9 is a perspective view, FIG. 10 is a side elevational view andFIG. 11 is a top plan view of a third embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. ll-A is an enlarged sectional view taken along the lines 1lA1 1-Aof FIG. 11, and FIG. 11-B is a 70 sectional view taken along the lines1lB1 lB of FIG.

3,248,685 Patented Apr. 26, 1966 FIG. 12 is an end view taken along thelines 1212 of FIG. 10, and

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken through a connector member withportions removed for clarity, showing the contact of FIG. 9 with thelead of an outside circuit secured to the tail portion thereof andfirmly anchored in the casing of a connector member.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawingswherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, a contactwith locking feature constituting a first embodiment of the presentinvention is generally shown at 10 in FIG. 1. Contact 10 basicallycomprises a bifurcated mating section 12, body section 14 and tailsection 16 with the locking features of the present invention.

The bifurcated mating section 12 is constructed in accordance withbifurcated contacts disclosed and claimed in United States Patent No.2,828,474. The entire contact 10 including mating section 12 isgenerally flat and is constructed of 0.012 inch spring-hard PhosphorBronze, copper or other suitable electrically conductive material havingthe necessary balance of resiliency and strength required herein.

The mating section 12 is bifurcated by virtue of a slot 18 along thelongitudinal center to provide a pair of contact legs 20 and 22 whichare spaced from each other by virtue of the slot 18. The outer edges ofthe contact legs 20 and 22 are generally parallel to each other untilthe points 24 are attained and then the outer edges of the legs 20 and22 taper somewhat sharply toward each other to the flattened tips 26.The contact legs then taper toward each other and meet the inner edges28 of the contact legs at the slot 18.

As shown in FIG. 8, the inner edges 28 are chamfered to presentsubstantially flat contact surfaces 30. In mating position, a contactwith a mating section similarly constructed'wi-ll mate perpendicularlywith respect to the contact of FIG. 1 as described in United StatesPatent No. 2,828,474 and United States Patent No. 2,994,056

so that the chamfered surfaces of the mating sections are in engagementwith each other to provide a large area of electrical contact. Thedistance between the inner edges 28 of the contact legs is slightly lessthan the thickness of the contact so that when a complementary contactis engaged in slot 18, the contact legs 20' and 22 are slightly forcedapart to engage the mating contact under tension. Such tension isconsiderably enhanced by the provision of an enlarged opening 32 at therearward end of the slot 18. Thus, the opening 32 provides a hingeaction which affords making the slot 18 slightly narrower than wouldother-wise be possible. As the two cooperating contacts are brought intomating relation,

their respective legs 20 and 22 are spread apart slightly by virtue ofthe aforementioned hinge action to permit a smooth sliding actionbetween the respective pairs of contact legs while still providingadequate tension to en-' sure good electrical contact.

It is to be understood that other types of bifurcated mating sectionsmay be employed and that the mating 34 which projects backwardly fromthemating section 12 and which is further defined by a lateral slot 36 anda longitudinal slot 38. The locking lance 34 assists in locking thecontact in the insulating casing of FIG. 4 as will be discussed ingreater detail hereinafter.

The body section 14 is formed between the mating section 12 and the tailsection 16, generally constitutes a continuation of the mating section12 and terminates adjacent rearward notches 40. The locking shoulder 42is formed centrally in the tail section 16 immediately behind thenotches 40. The locking shoulder 42 is stamped from the tail section 16and extends downwardly in a manner similar to the locking lance 34 asillustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawings. The locking shoulder 42cooperates with the locking lance 34 as illustrated in FIG. 2 of thedrawings to secure the contact in the insulating casing of FIG. 4 aswill be discussed in greater detail hereinafter.

The tail section 16 generally comprises first grasping means 44 andsecond grasping means 46 which prior to use define a two-step trough asbetter shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings. The first grasping means 44 islocated rearwardly of the second grasping means 46. The first graspingmeans 44 includes a pair of generally triangular wings 48, which arejoined by a floor or bridging section 49. The second grasping means 46includes a pair of relatively square wings 50, which are joined by afloor or bridging section 52. The floor 52 is positioned slightly aboveor at a different level from the floor 49 as defined by the step 54. Thewings 48 are separated from the wings 50 by virtue of the slots 56.

The use of the contact 10 in an insulating casing of a connector memberis illustrated in FIG. 4. In order to secure the lead 58 of an outsidecircuit to the contact 10, the leading portion of the insulation 60thereof is removed to expose the conductive member 61. The conductivemember 61 is placed between the wings 50 which are then folded orcrimped thereover in order to provide secure electrical and mechanicalconnection. The wings 48 are thereafter folded upon the insulation 60 inorder to provide a secure mechanical connection. The assembly of thecontact 10 with the outside lead 58 is then inserted in an insulatingcasing 62 from the rear thereof.

The insulating casing 62 basically comprises a rear chamber 64, a narrowneck portion 66 and a forward chamber 68.

As the contact 10 with the lead 58 is forced from the rear chamber 64into forward chamber 68, the locking lance 34 is first compressed intothe plane of the contact 10 as it passes through the narrow neck section66. As soon as the locking lance 34 has cleared the narrow neck section66 it immediately springs back to its original position as illustratedin FIG. 4. The locking shoulder 42, as shown in FIG. 4, is nowpositioned on the side of the neck portion 66 opposite to the lockinglance 34. The locking shoulder 42 then contacts a portion of the neck 66and thereby completes the locking of the contact 10 with the outsidecircuit 58 in the insulating casing 62.

It is thus seen that the tedious task of securing the lead of an outsidecircuit to a contact may be easily completed in advance of placing thesame in the insulating casing of a connector member.

A second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. to 8,generally comprises a mating section 112 and a body section 114 whichare substantially identical to the mating section 12 and the bodysection 14 of the contact 10. The tail section 116 instead of havingwings and being in the nature of a trough is continuous and iscompletely enclosed to provide first grasping means 144 and secondgrasping means 146 frontwardly thereof. The axis of the first graspingmeans 144 lies on the same line as the axis of the second grasping means146 but the first grasping means 144 is of a slightly greater diameteras defined by the step 154.

The contact of FIGS. 5 to 8 is used in a manner similar to that asillustrated in FIG. 4. The bared conductive portion of the lead of anoutside circuit is secured in the second grasping means 146 by means ofa crimping or other forming action with an untouched portion of the leadbeing secured in the first grasping section 144 by similar crimping orforming action.

A third embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 9 to 12,is generally indicated at 200 and comprises a mating section 212 and abody section 214 which are substantially identical to the mating section12 and the body section 14 of the contact 10. The tail section 216 isgenerally similar to the tail section 16 of the contact 10 and comprisesfirst grasping means 244 (complimentary wings) and second grasping means248 constructed along the lines of the grasping means 44 and 48. Alocking lance 234 is provided and is basically similar to the lockinglance 34 of contact 10. Locking shoulders 245 are defined by pairs ofinwardly extending notches 247 and 249 immediately in front of thesecond grasping means 248.

As shown in FIGS. 11, ll-A and 11-B, the first and second grasping means244 and 248 are defined in part by a two level trough separated by afirst step 251. The second grasping means 248 extends forwardly adjacenta second step 253 which is also formed in the tail section. A centraldepression 260 is formed in the tail section immediately in front of thesecond grasping means 248. As shown in FIG. 10 the central depression260 is defined on either side of areas 262. This is also shown ingreater detail in FIGS. ll-A and ll-B. When a bared lead is laid betweenthe first and second grasping means 244 and 248, the depression 260receives the forward extremity of the lead so that the lead will notextend upwardly. This not only makes for a more orderly appearance, buthas the very important function of preventing the extreme end of thelead from becoming frayed as occurs when the lead extends freelyupwardly when a depression 260 is not provided.

The contact 200 is employed in a manner similar to that illustrated inFIG. 4 and wherein the locking lance 234 and the depressed lockingshoulder 245 (FIG. 10) cooperate to lock the contact 200 in aninsulating casing.

It is thus seen that the lead of an outside circuit is secured to acontact employing two grasping means and that such an assembly maythereafter be simply and quickly secured in the casing of a connectormember using locking lance 134 and locking shoulder 142 to complete theconnector member.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present inventionare possible in the light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, tobe understood that within the scope of the appended claims, theinvention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. A connector member comprising an insulating casing including a rearchamber and a forward chamber interconnected by a narrow neck portion, acontact seated and locked in said chambers and neck portion, saidcontact comprising a mating section and a tail section united thereto bya body section, said body section including a locking lance, said tailsection including locking shoulders defined by pairs of notches andfurther including a first grasping means and a second grasping means,said first grasping means being located rearwardly of said secondgrasping means, said second grasping means being adapted to providesecure electrical and mechanical connection with an exposed lead of anoutside circuit, said first grasping means being adapted to providesecure mechanical connection with an insulated portion of said lead,said first and second grasping means being defined in part by atwo-level trough separated by a first step, said second grasping meansextending forwardly adjacent a second step formed in said tail section,a central depression formed in said second step receiving a portion ofsaid exposed lead of said outside circuit, said contact having itsmating section in said forward chamber and its tail section in said rearchamber and said neck portion being in- 5 terposed between said lockinglance and said locking shoulders.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said first grasping means includes apair of generally triangular wings and said second grasping meansincludes a pair of relatively square wings, said first grasping meansbeing separated from said second grasping means by virtue of slots.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Cummins 29155.55

Alden 339-213 Penfold 339205 Bergan 339-223 Falge et a1 339-217 XAquillon et a1. 339211 Fox 33947 X Fox 33949 X Dean 33921 7 X PATRICK A.CLIFFORD, Primary Examiner.

1. A CONNECTOR MEMBER COMPRISING AN INSULATING CASING INCLUDING A REARCHAMBER AND A FORWARD CHAMBER INTERCONNECTED BY A NARROW NECK PORTION, ACONTACT SEATED AND LOCKED IN SAID CHAMBERS AND NECK PORTION, SAIDCONTACT COMPRISING A MATING SECTION AND A TAIL SECTION UNITED THERETO BYA BODY SECTION, SAID BODY SECTION INCLUDING A LOCKING LANCE, SAID TAILSECTION INCLUDING LOCKING SHOULDERS DEFINED BY PAIRS OF NOTCHES ANDFURTHER INCLUDING A FIRST GRASPING MEANS AND A SECOND GRASPING MEANS,SAID FIRST GRASPING MEANS BEING LOCATED REARWARDLY OF SAID SECONDGRASPING MEANS, SAID SECOND GRASPING MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO PROVIDESECURE ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL CONNECTION WITH AN EXPOSED LEAD OF ANOUTSIDE CIRCUIT, SAID FIRST GRASPING MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO PROVIDESECURE MECHANICAL CONNECTION WITH AN INSULATED PORTION OF SAID LEAD,SAID FIRST AND SECOND GRASPING MEANS BEING DEFINED IN PART BY ATWO-LEVEL TROUGH SEPARATED BY A FIRST STEP, AND SECOND GRASPING MEANSEXTENDING FORWARDLY ADJACENT A SECOND STEP FORMED IN SAID TAIL SECTION,A CENTRAL DEPRESSION FORMED IN SAID SECOND STEP RECEIVING A PORTION OFSAID EXPOSED LEAD OF SAID OUTSIDE CIRCUIT, SAID CONTACT HAVING ITSMATING SECTION IN SAID FORWARD CHAMBER AND ITS TAIL SECTION IN SAID REARCHAMBER AND SAID NECK PORTION BEING INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID LOCKINGLANCE AND SAID LOCKING SHOULDERS.